Two weekends ago, San Fransisco 49ers rookie head coach Jim Harbaugh got into a heated back-and-forth exchange with Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz. The altercation was broken down and analyzed to the degree of an on-field play. Whether or not he was trolling Schwartz, Harbough’s youthful exuberance distracted many from the fact that his team had just knocked off a previously undefeated Detroit squad. Two weeks and two wins later, San Fransisco is sitting with the second-best record in football.

Credit Harbaugh, a star coach at Stanford, with the Niners’ turnaround. A team rich with talent but consistently lacking the mental edge to compete week-in and week-out, Harbaugh has them playing with a level of consistency that Mike Singletary could never pull off. They possess the number two defense in all of football, a unit that prides itself on stopping the run (opponents have been averaging an anemic 74.7 YPG when facing Harbaugh’s squad). On the other side of the line, San Fran controls the line of scrimmage and Frank Gore is having a bounce-back year after a subpar 2010 campaign. And, when you consider the farce that is the rest of the NFC West, their spot in the playoffs is all but guaranteed. Not bad for a team that many, ourselves included, assumed would tank in the name of Andrew Luck.

The Cincinnati Bengals are another squad shining, pre-season skepticism cast aside. Feeding off of the success of rookie combo QB Andy Dalton and receiver AJ Green, the Bengals are a shocking 5-2 and it’s a reality that I don’t want to accept. The Bengals were put in the AFC North to make Browns fans like myself feel better about our team. And yet they stand tall in the rugged AFC North, improving their record with a win against the Seattle Seahawks. As with San Fransisco, the Bengals are forging their winning identity through a strong defensive unit, one which ranks as the fifth best in the league. And, as much as I hate to say it, their future looks bright, especially when considering the high draft picks Oakland gifted them in exchange for the incumbent Carson Palmer.

Finally, in a match-up between teams that everybody knew would be competitive, the Pittsburgh Steelers bested the New England Patriots 25-17 to improve to 6-2. Riding big defensive plays throughout, the Steelers won the high-profile bout between perennial league juggernauts. As easy as it was to label their playmakers as old and banged up after a stumble out of the gate, Pittsburgh has been on fire for the past month, winning four consecutive contests and boasting an unblemished home record. It’s highly likely that both Pittsburgh and New England reach the post-season, so Tom Brady and co. will have their shot at revenge. Until then, Pittsburgh walks away with the biggest win of the week.

And that said, we give you Steeler Antonio Brown’s first NFL touchdown and the strange celebratory dance to accompany it.

Quick Hits

— Just another miserable Sunday for Cowboys and Redskins fans. The two teams were beaten by a combined score of 57-7. For Washington, not much looks to improve with no real weapons on offense. In Dallas, the confusing carousel that is the 2011 season writes another chapter. One week they’re as dominant as can be and can play with any team in the league. The next, they’re the laughing stock of pro sports. If ever a team in sports history has taken on a Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde persona, it’s Jerry Jones’ investment. The Giants, however, are in cruise control and Eli Manning is quietly putting together a pretty damn good season for Big Blue.

— The Texans sit in the driver’s seat of the AFC South although the Titans are keeping their heads above water while Chris Johnson has all but seemingly given up on trying to save anyone’s fantasy team. The Jaguars still show up on Sundays but the Colts are literally going into every game with their hands tied behind their back. Wouldn’t it be okay if they forfeited the rest of the season now?

— Is Philly poised for an amazing second half of the season run?

— The euphoric sports week in St. Louis marches on. Days after the Cardinals took home the World Series in a seven game thriller, the previously winless Rams shocked the football world by having their way with Drew Brees and the Saints. That’s right, an AJ Feely-led team beat the Saints. And rather handedly too, at that.

— No parting any defenses this week for the lightening rod of controversy that is Tim Tebow. The Lions, led by injured quarterback Matthew Stafford, visited the Mile High City and put on a clinic. However, the game’s most notable highligh came from the defense and Steven Tulloch’s Tebowing of poor Tim. And yep, as we all expect, Tebow will be crucified to the point of no return this week in the media. See what just happened there?

Join The Discussion

Teabow fans were waiting for Teabow to rise after thw 7th qb hit. The media and fans on both sides of the “Can Teabow be a starter?” Need to stop overacting to every game he plays, he is a rookie qb and should be given a chance to show what he can do.

Speaking of rookie qb’s Cam Newton is having an incredible season. The “experts” were way off on him. I didn’t think he would be as bad as some experts *cough* Merrill Hodge *cough* but I could not think he would be this good this soon. And what’s scary for the league is he that he is only gonna get better

Eli is having a terrific 1st half of the season; especially when the Giants running game hasn’t been good this season. The O-Line has become a pass blocking line, they do not run block welll anymore. Ahmad is still running hard and has made some big plays, Jacobs unfortunately is running his mouth more than his legs this year

All I will say about the Cowboys beatdown they received last night is this: I haven’t seen Cowboys take an ass whipping like that since the Alamo

As for the Forskins, I guess Shanahan can only score when he has Elway and Davis on offense. John Beck made them miss McNabb.

The 49’ers if they continue to run the ball and defend are going to be a tough team to beat.

Chris Johnson took the money and ran, unfortunately none of the said running has be done on the field.

@ Bigga: How about them Giants?! I was scared for a moment but Eli pulled through for the win eradicating the Dolphin’s slight glimmer of hope, relegating them back to the “Suck for Luck Sweepstakes”. What can I say about my Ravens?! Boldin and Rice were the double-threat, while Smith stepped up big-time for a miraculous catch. Flacco is backo! (sorry, bad joke!) His yardage and completion percentage was pretty damn impressive, plus he played with more determination and grit. SUGGS!!! No QB is safe! HIDE THE BALL! HIDE YO BACKS! The Ravens D came through yet again and made the crucial stops to get the victory and keep us in play-off contention. See you next week for Sunday Night Football, Shittsburgh! Speaking of Shittsburgh, where the fuck did all of these new Steelers fans come from? Fair-weather fans kill me, fuckouttahere.

ps: BILLS!!! I told people that the Bills aren’t playing around this year. At best, they make it to the first round of the play-offs.

@ Bigga: Why won’t they let Killa Cam be great? If any of these “experts” or “analysts” doubt his skills and abilities, tell them to check the College Football standings. Thought so. Auburn is fucking 25th in the nation; Cam WAS the Auburn offense! Everybody thought that Cam was only a rushing QB but he has demonstrated that he can toss the ball as well. Give him a few years and he’ll be a premier QB in the league, smashing records set by his predecessors.

Flea: It is the fear of the Black QB. The “experts” still feel an athletic black qb will not be smart enough to process the information to play the position. Which is bs. The Giants were playing like crap; but Eli played great and the pass rush finally got to moore. The Victor Cha-Cha CRUZ made the big play

On top of being a real-life beas, Killa Cam Newton is single-handedly keeping my fantasy squad alive and in contention right now. I been hit by injuries (Andre Johnson, Kenny Britt, LeGarrate Blount, Jahvid Best, Tim Hightower, now Mark Ingram) and guys who have been busts/letdowns/inconsistent (Santonio Holmes, Percy Harvin, DeAngelo Williams, Shonn Greene) I’ve wound up dropping like half those guys during the bye weeks clr except Santonio, Blount, AJ, Best, Ingram and Greene and my squad looks like a disaster zone but we’re still somehow 5-3 and 4th in points scored because of Mr. Killa Cam, so to you sir, I toast and wish you continued good health and fortune in the name of my squad and my enjoyment of NFL Sundays.

Philly is rounding into form, I think McCoy has elevated himself into the discussion of best RB in the league. There is nothing he cant do at his position, he runs inside and outside, pass blocks, and catches everything thrown his way. The NFC East battle between Phi/NY will be fun, Eli is playing at highest level i’ve seem and has at least 4 viable options in the passing game. Also as a semi-retired salsero, I must say Victor Cruzes TD celebrations are dope…between him and Aaron Hernandez, Latinos are slowly creeping up in the fútbol de americano as we call it. America can keep claiming bum ass Romo though, lol.

@ Cell: Why mad at the hoodie? Tomlin is a quality coach and they had the right gameplay to both take advantage of NE’s weaknesses on D and keep the offense off th field. They punched y’all in the mouth. I didn’t know NE was too soft to punch back. Is that coaches fault?

John Beck needs to be filling water bottles & not calling plays. He is awful. Put Grossman in, at least 1 of 3 games is BS, not every one.
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We need Jamarcus. Im starting the rally cry for it. If we are gonna be bad we should at least be entertaining.

The NFL and NBA need a relegation system cuz suck for luck is lame. Plus then those trash games actually matter too.

New England got cheated out of about 1min. of time (that was desperately needed) when the refs fouled up that 2nd down TD that CLEARLY crossed the plane… & I’m going to pretend that play that led to the safety never happened. Fucking Polamalu. But, hats off to the Steelers for the win. They played like our offense (short passes) & they executed it better.

Bradygod’s arms were too short to box with tha Killerbees. Our wideouts are all young (Wallace, Sanders, and Brown), but with time, combined with Big Ben’s arm strength, they’re gonna make magic happen down the field.

How’s everyone FF lookin like tho? I decided to start Sproles this week after his showout last week and he played terrible. Same goes for Chris Johnson. It’s already week nine and Johnson hasn’t been a quarter of what he was in previous years. Luckily, I kept my ears to the streets because I made some key pickups (Antonio Brown and Victor Cruz for example) that faired well. Hopefully Jackie Battle proves to be a good waiver pick up as I expect him to wild out on the Charger’s defense.

@ El Rosado: BLASPHEMY!!! ABOMINATION!!! Flacco isn’t the greatest QB but when he’s firing on all cylinders and the offense is clicking…WATCH OUT! You’re correct about his mental fortitude though; last weeks loss to Jacksonville would’ve never had happened to Brady or Manning (Peyton, Eli perhaps) because those guys delve deep into themselves and never quit. The QB position requires a lot of mental strength because any weakness will permeate through the rest of the team. Still, my Ravens will persevere until the last down!